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Search results for 'due':

due adj 1 owed; payable. 2 expected according to timetable or pre-arrangement. 3 proper. noun 1 what is owed; that which can be rightfully claimed or expected. 2 (dues) subscription fees. adverb directly • due north. due to something or someone 1 caused by it or them. 2 because of it or them. give someone their due to acknowledge their qualities or achievements, especially when disapproving in other ways. in due course in the ordinary way when the time comes.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French deü, from devoir to owe.

due to

It is sometimes argued that, because due is an adjective, due to should have a noun or pronoun that it refers back to (an antecedent), as in• • Absence from work due to sickness has certainly not been falling (where 'absence' is the antecedent)• . This argument would disallow sentences like:

?• A special train service was cancelled due to operating difficulties (where due to is effectively a preposition).

This point of view is based on the word's behaviour in its other meanings; in this meaning it has taken on a new grammatical role that is now well established. Due to often refers back to a whole clause even when there is a notional antecedent, as with 'starvation' in the sentence• • Out in the countryside, two million people are at risk of starvation, due to the failure of the harvest.

RECOMMENDATION: it is correct to use due to in both the ways shown

due adj 1 owed; payable. 2 expected according to timetable or pre-arrangement. 3 proper. noun 1 what is owed; that which can be rightfully claimed or expected. 2 (dues) subscription fees. adverb directly • due north. due to something or someone 1 caused by it or them. 2 because of it or them. give someone their due to acknowledge their qualities or achievements, especially when disapproving in other ways. in due course in the ordinary way when the time comes.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French deü, from devoir to owe.

due to

It is sometimes argued that, because due is an adjective, due to should have a noun or pronoun that it refers back to (an antecedent), as in• • Absence from work due to sickness has certainly not been falling (where 'absence' is the antecedent)• . This argument would disallow sentences like:

?• A special train service was cancelled due to operating difficulties (where due to is effectively a preposition).

This point of view is based on the word's behaviour in its other meanings; in this meaning it has taken on a new grammatical role that is now well established. Due to often refers back to a whole clause even when there is a notional antecedent, as with 'starvation' in the sentence• • Out in the countryside, two million people are at risk of starvation, due to the failure of the harvest.

RECOMMENDATION: it is correct to use due to in both the ways shown

due adj 1 owed; payable. 2 expected according to timetable or pre-arrangement. 3 proper. noun 1 what is owed; that which can be rightfully claimed or expected. 2 (dues) subscription fees. adverb directly • due north. due to something or someone 1 caused by it or them. 2 because of it or them. give someone their due to acknowledge their qualities or achievements, especially when disapproving in other ways. in due course in the ordinary way when the time comes.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French deü, from devoir to owe.

due to

It is sometimes argued that, because due is an adjective, due to should have a noun or pronoun that it refers back to (an antecedent), as in• • Absence from work due to sickness has certainly not been falling (where 'absence' is the antecedent)• . This argument would disallow sentences like:

?• A special train service was cancelled due to operating difficulties (where due to is effectively a preposition).

This point of view is based on the word's behaviour in its other meanings; in this meaning it has taken on a new grammatical role that is now well established. Due to often refers back to a whole clause even when there is a notional antecedent, as with 'starvation' in the sentence• • Out in the countryside, two million people are at risk of starvation, due to the failure of the harvest.

RECOMMENDATION: it is correct to use due to in both the ways shown